Friday, January 10, 2025

Preparations Continue

"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today."
- Malcolm X

Baby Steps.

I'm making progress in my trip preparation. I sent off for my International Driving Permit this week. I thought the IDP was just a racket with no real value or teeth, but apparently I thought wrong. I was unaware that the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic even existed. But there they are and both Nepal and Tibet not only recognize them, but require foreigners to carry a permit from an agency compliant with one of them. An IDP is not a license to drive in any country, but it serves to give notice that the holder is licensed to drive somewhere in the world contemporary enough to actually enforce standards. At a mere $20 to the AAA plus the cost of two passport photos and a postage stamp, it's probably a still a racket, but it's a small price to pay to get my hands on the rental bike and to secure my Tibetan Visa with driving privileges.

Speaking of my Tibetan Visa, I filed the application this week also. I felt like I was sending a resume complete with occupation, education, relatives living and deceased, and a list of all countries visited in the last five years. Most of this information is available through my passport, but I'm not arguing the process. The Chinese don't mess around. I'm told this application will be matched up and checked for inconsistencies with my passport in Kathmandu and then again at the Tibetan border. I suppose these requirements are no big deal given that Nepal was closed to all foreigners as recently as forty years ago and China has been tightening its grip on Tibet for decades.

Nepal also requires an entry Visa, but it appears easier to acquire. One option is to print the application and apply for a Visa upon arrival at the airport in Kathmandu. I've read that the process can take anywhere from twenty minutes to five hours. The other option is to send my passport off to the Nepalese Embassy in Washington DC, which will facilitate my sailing past the Visa Upon Arrival queue. This option was recommended by my in country asset since I have three months before I depart. I still have to complete and submit an online version, which the Embassy reviews it for completeness and any potential issues. If the planets are aligned, they email me a form to print and snail mail back to them along with with my passport and a $50 fee. My passport should be back in my hands within two weeks. I chose this option because it leaves less to chance.

Other ongoing preparations include acquiring the miscellaneous equipment and clothing items necessary to survive the environment, and perhaps a few creature comforts. I'm also putting in three miles on the rower and elliptical trainer at least five days a week. When the weather and my schedule permits, I walk three miles with my dogs past the neighbor farms on my county road.

I can definitely feel the positive results from my conditioning, my eating habits, and from my alcohol abstinence. But, I'm frustrated by slower progress and impact than I experienced when I initially trained for this trip in 2020. I'm aware that I'm five years older, but apparently the difference in aging into my 60s is more impactful than I anticipated. Still, I press on.

Baby steps.


Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Earthquake!

On January 6th, Tibet experienced an earthquake that measured a 7.1 on the Richter Scale. The death toll so far is over 100 with more injured. The epicenter is said to be near Shigatze, which is my planned stopping point on riding day four of my trip. This area suffered dramatically during the COVID lockdowns and had been getting back on its feet economically speaking over the last year.

I checked in with my in-county contact and was told the tremors were felt in Kathmandu, but no damage was reported. He added that none of his crew were in the field when the earthquake happened and that he did not see any long-reaching effects that could impact my itinerary. Of course I have personal interests in the region's recovery, but I am hoping for the best for the people directly and indirectly impacted by this event.

Updates as they are available.